OPINION
Yitzh ak Rabin Is Not
The Pr ince Of Peace
GARY ROSENBLATT
Editor
A word of ca u-
tion about th e
Israeli elections:
the voters did
not move signif-
icantly to the
left; they care
as much about
their pocketbooks as they do
about disputed territories,
• and Yitzhak Rabin is not the
prince of peace.
The headlines and articles
in the American daily press
were euphoric, and
dangerously simplistic, in
describing last week's vote
as signaling an end to con-
cerns by Israelis about cau-
tion and security and
heralding an imminent
peace treaty with the Arab
states.
This is a misreading of the
results. What the election
proved, rather, is that
Israelis were tired of the
stagnation of the Likud,
under Prime Minister Yit-
zhak Shamir, and were
ready to try a government
led by Yitzhak Rabin, an old-
time military man who they
feel they can trust to move
the peace talks forward
without giving away the
store.
The Labor Party Mr.
Rabin leads is quite dovish,
but the former general who,
as defense minister at the
outbreak of the intifada
promised to break Palestin-
ian bones, is adamant in his
commitment to hold on to all
of Jerusalem, the Golan
Heights and the existing set
tlements in the disputed ter-
ritories.
Where he differs with Mr.
Shamir is that he believes
there are enough set-
tlements to hold the line
while Mr. Shamir wanted
more. And despite his lack of
warmth, wit or diplomatic
style, Mr. Rabin under-
stands the importance of
emphasizing his willingness
to make progress regarding
Palestinian autonomy,
though he is as opposed to a
Palestinian state as Ariel
• Sharon.
Labor under Mr. Rabin
scored significantly better
than Mr. Shamir's Likud
primarily because, on a per-
sonal level, voters felt more
comfortable with the
centrist Rabin outlook. But
the tally showed that
overall, the parties on the
left of the political spectrum
scored only the narrowest of
majorities over the parties of
the right, by about 51 to 49
percent. (Israel Correspon-
dent Ina Friedman reports
from Jerusalem that a
number of votes on the right
were wasted in the sense
that they went to small
right-wing parties that did
not win enough votes to gain
representation in the
Knes et.)
So Israelis did not sudden-
ly shift to the left in their
What the election
proved is t hat
Israelis we e tired
of the stagn ation
of the Likud a nd
were ready to ry a
government led by
Yitzhak Rabin.
national election. Instead,
they moved cautiously to the
center, entrusting Mr. Rabin
to find a way to negotiate in
a meaningful way with the
Arabs while maintaining
security as Israel's most
vital need.
But not all of the voters'
concerns were regarding ter-
ritories and their ultimate
disposition. Israelis are
deeply worried about a
stagnating economy, a rising
unemployment rate and a
government whose emphasis
on supporting West Bank
settlements overshadowed
the need for jobs for Russian
immigrants.
Many voters, including the
vast majority of former Rus-
sians, felt that Labor would
do a better job than Likud in
turning the economy
around. When they went to
the ballot boxes, they were
thinking more about
groceries than ideology.
In the next few weeks, Mr.
Rabin will no doubt be in-
vited to come to the U.S. to
meet with President Bush.
Expect lots of smiles, some of
them genuine, for several
reasons.
Compared to the Bush-
Shamir chemistry, the new
relationship is bound to be
an improvement.
Mr. Rabin understands
that Washington needs to
save diplomatic face by
jump-starting the stalled
Mideast peace talks and he
is prepared to help.
Mr. Bush understands that
American Jews, a key factor
Israelis moved to the middle with Rabin.
in what could be a close
three-way presidential race,
are less than thrilled with
Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.
And while many Jews have
been angry with the Bush
administration's shabby
treatment of Israel, the pres-
ident knows that his renew-
ed interest regarding the
$10 billion loan guarantee
could go a long way toward
improving his chances with
American Jewish voters
come November.
So U.S.-Israel relations are
going to take a decided
upswing in the coming mon-
ths. But not to fear, that
won't last, either. The crun-
ch will come in the peace
talks when the Arabs will
The Danger To A merican Jews
Of Ross Perot's C andidacy
Special to The Jewish News
I
n parlors and periodicals,
Jews are cheering the
fact that even larger pro-
portions of Jews are being
elected by the public. This is
happening not just in
alifornia, where three out
of four major senatorial can-
didates and at least a half
dozen congressional can-
didates are Jewish, but all
over the country. Why
should that make us so
cheerful?
After all, it is not
automatic that Jews in
public office will be able to
handle Jewish issues such as
Israel more effectively than
non-Jews. And it had
better be that way. There
are about three times as
-
❑
•
EARL RAAB
Ross Perot: Threat to system?
have to decide whether they
are really willing to settle
for an autonomy plan that is
less than a Palestinian state,
and when Israel will have to
decide whether it is really
willing to give up real land
for Arab promises.
But that's a long way off.
For now, let the newly form-
ing Rabin government bask
in a rare moment of positive
press — and be prepared for
the incoming prime minister
who is being described as the
candidate of peace to be
taken down a peg in the
media when it discovers that
he is still Yitzhak Rabin,
former military hero who is
as tough as ever about
Israel's security.
Earl Raab is director of
Brandeis University's Nath an
Perlmutter Institute for Jewis h
Advocacy.
many Jews in Congress as
our percentage of the gen-
eral population. But that
still leaves about nine out of
10 in Congress who are non-
Jewish. Most of them are
supportive of important Jew-
ish causes, which is for-
tunate but not accidental.
It is, of course, reassuring
to see so many Jews elected
to public office by consti-
tuencies that are 95 percent
non-Jewish. That just
doesn't happen in a society
where anti-Semitism is very
active.
But the real thing we have
to worry about in the cam-
paigning months ahead is
not whether Jewish can-
didates are elected, but
whether we are seeing a fall-
ing apart of the political
system that has enabled
such candidates to flourish
and Jewish issues to be ad-
vanced. And this year that
concern is spelled P-E-R-O-T.
It is not that Ross Perot is
Continued on Page 10
I DETRO T EWISH NEWS
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